Police nab alleged lobster thief, but catch gets away

A Galveston man who police say swiped frozen lobsters from a Walmart store found himself caught in the law-enforcement net Monday.

Michael D. Moore, 49, is now in the Galveston County Jail, charged with misdemeanor theft of property, according to League City police.

Michael D. Moore (League City PD)

Walmart store employees told investigators that a man entered the store at 1701 W. FM 646 in League City on July 6 and got on an electric scooter provided by the store.

Police said that Moore proceeded to the frozen goods department, where he selected nine frozen lobster packages valued at $170.82 and placed them in the basket of the motorized vehicle.

“After selecting the packages, he used the scooter to exit the store and bypassed all points of sale,” a League City PD press release states. “He drove the scooter all the way to his vehicle which was identified as a blue Ford Crown Victoria.”

A store employee jotted down the vehicle’s license plate, and soon after a warrant was issued for Moore’s arrest, and store employees identified him in a photo lineup, police said.

Almost two weeks later on Monday, investigators arrested Moore without incident in the 200 block of Delaney Road in La Marque. The lobsters got away.

“The shoplifting of food items is not that all uncommon,” said Sgt. John Jordan of the League City Police Department. “But I don’t believe I’ve seen any (lobsters taken) in the recent past.”